Haunted
by WeatherWriter
Summary: Ryan and Kelly's son is haunted by a secret kept about his past. I own nothing except for the characters I made up.


On a bright and sunny Saturday, the Newman family is preparing for a yard sale. Josh is now sixteen, and Amelia is fourteen. They are sorting through boxes early in the morning.

"I think this whole box can be sold. We haven't used these dishes since, well, before our wedding" Ryan says.

"Let's go ahead and sell them, Kelly says. But I think we should wash them first."

"I can wash them for you," Amelia says.

"That would be great. Thank you sweetie," Kelly replies to Amelia.

Amelia takes the dishes to the sink while everyone else continues sorting through boxes. Josh opens a large box, and finds old photo albums. He takes the top ones out to see if there are other items in the box. A piece of paper falls out of a journal that Josh had taken out of the box. He bends down to pick it up and glances at it. It is a page from one of Kelly's journals. It reads, "I love the child growing inside of me, but it's hard to accept the fact that I was raped." Josh opens one of the photo albums and sees pictures of Kelly and an unfamiliar face. Although Josh is unaware of who this man is, it is Nick, Kelly's ex. Josh looks at an older family picture on a shelf in the living room. Kelly looks the same as she did in the picture with Nick. He drops the photo album. Ryan and Kelly look at him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" asks Josh in a confused tone.

"Tell you what?" Kelly asks.

"That Ryan is not my father."

Josh runs out of the house. Kelly puts her hands over her face, embarrassed.

"I should have just thrown those away," she says.

"Don't worry about it, Ryan says in a comforting tone. Let's just give Josh some space."

"I'm sorry he said that in front of you."

"It's not a big deal. I'm sure he is just very shocked right now. This is a pretty big piece of news."

Amelia looks at Ryan and Kelly with wide eyes. She drops the dish she is holding into the sink.

"Go back to what you are doing. I will explain later," Kelly tells Amelia.

Amelia quickly turns around and goes back to doing the dishes.

Meanwhile…

Josh has been running as fast as he can to release his frustrations. He is unaware that Wilfred has been following him. He stops at the park to catch his breath. Wilfred stops behind Josh and takes a deep breath.

"Hi, Josh," Wilfred says quietly.

Josh jumps and turns around. He sees Wilfred standing in front of him.

"Whoa, did you just talk?" Josh asks, confused.

"Yes. Look, it's hard to explain, but I have a gift. I've been talking to Ryan for many years."

"But if Ryan's not my real father, then how can you talk to me?"

"The gift works with all people who are in need of a little guidance in life. I stayed with Ryan because we developed a great friendship. I will still talk to Ryan, but now I feel that I should talk to you."

"So, I take it that you overheard what happened at our house this morning," Josh says to Wilfred.

"I did. So, how exactly did you discover that Ryan's not your biological father?" asks Wilfred.

"A piece of paper fell out of one of Mom's old journals when I was taking them out of a box. It was part of an entry about her ex, Josh says, taking a deep breath. Tears form in his eyes. I'm the product of rape."

"I know that is a shock to you, but you shouldn't be angry."

"My father didn't want me. He abandoned my mom. How am I supposed to shake this off and pretend that it never happened?"

"Look at what you _do _have, Wilfred reminds Josh. Ryan might not be your biological father, but he cares about you. He has done everything he possibly could to help your mother take care of you. He stuck by her even when she told him she was pregnant with another man's child. That's what love is, Josh."

"It's not that I don't love Ryan, but why didn't they tell me about where I come from?"

"They didn't want to upset you. I overheard many conversations about whether or not they should tell you."

"If they would have been more open about it, maybe I wouldn't be so angry."

"They were only trying to protect you. They didn't want you to carry this secret around with you. Look at how happy you've been without knowing it."

"I was happy," Josh says in an angry tone.

"Now that you know, you're going to need to express the feelings that you now have."

"I don't think I can talk to Ryan about this. I don't want to remind him of how he is not my real father."

"He accepts it. He loves you with all his heart."

"Couldn't I just talk to you? I'm sure you know a lot about our family situation."

"You need to talk to your parents about it. They want to help you. Now, I want you to pull yourself together, and go back to your house."

Josh wipes the tears from his eyes.

"Thanks, Wilfred."

"Anytime."

"So, this might be a stupid question, but, do dogs give hugs?"

"Of course. Come here, you."

Wilfred gives Josh a hug.

At Ryan and Kelly's house…

Ryan, Kelly, and Amelia are outside working their yard sale. Jenna is browsing the yard sale.

"Have you seen Wilfred at all today?" Jenna asks.

No, I haven't, Ryan says. Maybe he went to the neighborhood garbage dump."

Kelly looks away for a second, and she sees Wilfred and Josh walking toward their house.

"There he is! Kelly says. He probably followed Josh wherever he went."

"Don't worry, Aunt Jenna, I took care of Wilfred. He followed me when I went for a run," Josh explains to Jenna.

"That's fine. I was just a little worried because usually Wilfred is usually in the house when I wake up."

"I didn't realize Wilfred was following me until I stopped to catch my breath at the park."

"Wilfred has been a lot quieter since he's gotten older."

"Even though he's older, he still has the same personality," Ryan says.

Wilfred knocks a birdhouse off of the table.

"Wilfred, no! Jenna yells. I'm so sorry, Ryan."

"Don't worry about it. I don't think it would sell anyway. If Wilfred wants it, he can have it."

"I couldn't just take this from you. I'll buy it."

"That's very nice of you, Kelly says. It's two dollars."

Jenna hands Kelly the money.

"I'm going to head back inside. I'm sure the kids are getting hungry. Come on, Wilfred."

Jenna takes Wilfred in the house.

In the evening…

Ryan is sitting in the living room, reading. Josh quietly comes into the living room.

"Dad?" Josh says in a shaky voice.

"Yes," Ryan replies.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I just didn't know exactly how to handle what I saw."

"I'm not mad at all. I understand that this is quite a shock."

Josh sits down next to Ryan.

"I really appreciate what you've done for me. You knew the truth all along, and you accepted it. Not many people do that these days," Josh says to Ryan.

"Let me tell you something. When I first laid eyes on your mother, I knew there was something special about her. I just couldn't resist talking to her. After our first conversation, I knew that we were going to be more than friends. She told me her secret on our second date. She was so scared. I felt so connected to her, and I couldn't leave her. Nothing stops true love."

"That's amazing. Thank you for staying with her. Who knows where I would be if it weren't for you. I love you, Dad."

"I love you, too."

Ryan and Josh embrace. Josh cries.

"It's ok. I will always love you no matter what" Ryan tells Josh.

After Ryan and Josh finish their hug, Josh smiles.

"Wilfred talked to me," Josh tells Ryan.

Ryan looks confused.

"He actually talked to me. I could understand him perfectly. He told me that you can hear him, too."

"I can't believe it. Did he say he why he decided to talk to you?" Ryan asks Josh.

"He wanted to help me let go of my anger about what I found out. He told me that he has helped you deal with things, and he figured it was time to help me, too."

"He is one amazing dog, that's for sure."

"Now I know why you would always hold your phone to your ear when we took walks with Wilfred," Josh says, smiling.

Ryan laughs.

In Amelia's room…

Kelly is sitting Amelia down to talk about what happened in the morning.

"As you heard earlier, Ryan is not Josh's biological father. When I was in college, I was with a man named Nick. We dated for five years, and were engaged for a short time. He wanted to have sex with me the night of our engagement, but I thought it would be better if we waited. He wanted nothing to do with that idea, so, he raped me. The rape made me pregnant with Josh. I met Ryan when I was three months pregnant. He accepted that, and did everything he could to help me," Kelly explains to Amelia.

Amelia has tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry that had to happen to you. On the other hand, if that didn't happen, you probably wouldn't have met Dad."

"That's how I look at it. If Nick wouldn't have left me, then my life would probably not be as great as it is now. I wouldn't change a thing."

"This might sound selfish, but I don't intend to be, Amelia says, taking a deep breath. If you would have stayed with Nick, I might not be here."

Amelia begins crying. Kelly embraces her.

"You are not being selfish. I think the same way all the time, Kelly reassures her. I am very happy that I chose to move here. I found love, and a peaceful place to raise my children."

There is a knock on the door.

"Come in," Amelia says, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Josh opens Amelia's door.

"Dad wants to know if you guys want to have a family movie night," Josh says to them.

"Sure, Kelly says. Does Dad have a movie in mind?"

"He and I both were thinking of 'My Dog Skip.' Since Wilfred cheered me up, I figured it would be nice to watch a movie about a dog."

"That sounds like a great family movie. Amelia, would you mind making some popcorn?" Kelly asks.

Amelia gets up and goes into the kitchen. A few minutes later, she comes out with a bowl of popcorn. The Newman family sits on the couch together. Ryan has his arm around Kelly's shoulders. The whole family is smiling. They are happy that everything has worked out in the end.


End file.
